Winter has typically been my least favorite season because I’m a water girl, however this year our family has taken up some new outdoor sports to make the winter more enjoyable. We dusted off the cross country skis once again and made it out a few times to Indian Lake and the Sakatah trail. Wish I got to do it more often but it’s a still a hard activity to do with my little guys. Out of all the Olympic sports, I think the cross country skiers/biathletes have to be in the best shape….their strength and endurance is out of this world. Plus skiers are totally hot to watch <drool>.

I finally got back on the horse and tried downhill skiing again after my 1992 concussion incident. I’m in love with it and so is Kallen (6)… looks like we’ll be getting a season pass for next year and hopefully get a few ski trips in to Lutsen and Colorado as well. Bamboo sales are gonna have to pick up quite a bit for me to afford to outfit the family in ski and snowboarding gear. I did get out snowboarding 3 times as well and even after all the bumps and bruises, I’m eager to get back on a board next winter. Maybe next year I won’t have to use Kallen’s Clifford pillow to protect my rear end:

I spent some time with a Venture Snowboard rep at Canoecopia in Madison a few weeks ago and he’s pretty much sold me on one of their boards. I like their minimalist design philosophy, they’re made in Colorado, a member of 1% for the Planet, and their facility is run by wind power – excellent! He told me that 9 out of 10 snowboard/ski instructors he meets would prefer a Venture board if they could afford it. I’m leaning towards the Storm or the Zephyr. I haven’t even started looking at downhill ski’s but will need something in the 160 range. I was trying to fit in one last run at the local hill last Friday but it closed up shop for the year. I came <this> close to flying to Denver this weekend…but sigh, it was not to be. I really, really, wanted to test out my new Mountain Hardwear ski pants:

My boys absolutely loved watching the winter Olympics so much that they are now inspired to grow up to be snowboarders, skiers or speed skaters. Click here to watch a video of Kallen’s first time on a snowboard. We even had an Olympic arts & crafts day coloring and making medals:

I figured out another outdoor activity that I can do with the boys….but I haven’t come up with a name for it yet (shoejoring?). For Christmas I got a pair of Atlas snowshoes – Elektra 12 Series. I had never owned a pair of snowshoes before and I was told by a number of outdoor authorities that these were the best of the best (plus I had to support my Pemba peeps). So far they are wonderful and have worked good in our couple feet of snow we’ve had this winter. Don’t be like me though and go and scratch up these beauties trekking through cattails.

New winter workout - snowshoes, rope, carabiners and a toboggan

Mush, mommy, mush!

Now that we are transitioning seasons I am looking forward to spring geocaching and morel mushroom hunting. If you are not familiar with these activities check out these links:

We’ve already been out geocaching several times since the temps already reached into the 60’s last week. Our first one of the year took us out by the Rapidan bike trail.

I’m turning into such a gear freak it’s starting to get out of hand….did I tell you I also want a new road bike and a SUP (stand up paddle board) too for this summer? Good thing I already have a wakeboard and a kayak because I plan on getting a lot of use out of them this summer. Now I’ll have to figure out a way to schedule work around my play time:)